Title: “The Connections Between Periodontal Health and Systemic Well-Being: What Do They Mean to My Practice?”

Course Description:

From the New England Journal of Medicine to Ladies Home Journal, the last 20 years have seen an explosion of published information related to the interactions between oral and systemic health. These interactions involve inflammation of periodontal and peri-implant tissues. Our patients are reading and hearing this information, and they want to know how it relates to their own health. When our patient says, “Is my gum disease bad for my baby (or my diabetes, or my heart)?”, we need to be able to answer the question based on the evidence. This lecture will review the links between periodontal/peri-implant inflammation and commonly encountered systemic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and pregnancy. The purpose of this evidence-based discussion is to translate knowledge gleaned from medical and dental research into the everyday world of clinical dental practice. Since the speaker is a clinician, the emphasis of the day’s discussion is on clinical relevance and practical usage of the evidence.

Learning Objectives: Following this course, the attendee will:

Be familiar with the emerging concepts of periodontal and peri-implant diseases as they relate to other inflammatory diseases

Comprehend the influences of systemic conditions such as immune compromise and diabetes on periodontal/peri-implant health

Brian Mealey, D.D.S., M.S., is Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Periodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is a former Director of the American Board of Periodontology and former Trustee of the AAP. Dr. Mealey served 21 years in the United States Air Force, first and a general dentist then as a periodontist. He has published two textbooks and over 100 articles and abstracts in the scientific literature. Dr. Mealey maintains an active clinical practice in periodontics and implant dentistry.